MT. ARLINGTON, New Jersey. We drove to Pennsylvania for the first time in months. The last time we were there the leaves on the trees were already changing to the spectrum of fall. The wild grass that grew along the I80 West had lost their strength, and were withering slowly into the earth, and intermittently, we saw carcasses of deer near the side of the road, further marking that the turning point between summer and the stilling of life.
On the way through New Jersey, Neshaa and I decided to stop in Mount Arlington. It seemed the perfect point to fill the car up with gasoline, and get something to eat. Gasoline in New Jersey can be around 30 cents cheaper than New York so if you are traveling to the Northeast, it may help to fill up your gas tank in New Jersey before you get to New York going East, or before you head to Pennsylvania going West.
We made our way off the exit of the I80, and noticed that there was an Ihop at the stop. Neshaa remarked that it was nice to be without the pups for a change. We could enjoy breakfast without having to worry about them. In the past we had to alternate between walking them; either of us making a quick stop into a restaurant to eat or use the rest room at a point in time.
Not long after we were seated in the Ihop an elderly couple came, and the hostess motioned them towards a table to the left of where we were seated. We had just finished placing our order of coffee, pumpkin pancakes, eggs, and turkey bacon.
I was taking the first sip of my coffee, when the lady pushed herself out of her seat, and started to walk away briskly from her table. Her husband threw his hands up into the air and called her name, “Helen!” The lady spun around and walked back to her seat as quickly as she had left it. I could see that she was biting hard on her tongue for there was unfinished business to contemplate.
Our meal came, and we started to eat it with the happiness of two people being out for the first time (in a long time) without having to worry about the children. I was on my third cut of the pancakes when lady commandeered the moment. “What?” she addressed her husband. “You have never made a mistake? I made the biggest mistake on July 22nd, 1972.”
We looked up from our food.
It must have been the date of the wedding.
Voices faded in the room, and we heard the sound of cutlery moving slowly upon china.
He said nothing.
We finished eating and paid the bill. And the traffic flowed nicely all the way to Pennsylvania.
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Report prepared by Govia.
Tags: 180 West, Govia, Ihop, Mt. Arlington, New Jersey, racism
